Would you like to have a delicious and easy to make coffee cake for fall? I have the best Apple Fritter Coffee Cake recipe just in time for apple pecan season of fall. Soft tender batter is layered in a square baking pan with chopped granny smith cooking apples. What makes this so delicious is the hint of apple cider in the batter as well as the toasted pecan and cinnamon sugar topping. The chopped apples and cinnamon sugar chopped pecan mixture is layered three times within the cider flavored batter. YUM! It tastes like a fried apple fritter only it is baked an chocked full of fall flavors. Once the coffee cake is baked and cooled, a cider maple glaze is drizzled over the entire cake.
What Kind of Apples Should You for Apple Fritter Coffee Cake
Recently we went to an apple orchard one of our favorite things to do in fall to pick up some apples, cider and apple fritters. This orchard in the mountains of North Carolina grows many fall eating and cooking apples. The tart Granny Smith is great for baking and cooking which can be found at the grocery store year round. But for this recipe we picked up a couple of Cinnamon Crisp, Jonagold, Ambrosia and Gold Rush, all sweet some tart for eating and cooking.
Apple Photo taken at Justice Apple Orchard, Hendersonville, N Carolina
If you can find an apple orchard in your neck of the woods get fresh picked apples for your fall baking. It really makes a difference as most orchards are using heirloom seeds, nothing better than heirloom non GMO seeds.
I am baking the Apple Fritter Coffee Cake now and it is smelling so good. I smell sweet cinnamon, baking apples like a pie and a cake as in a butter flavored cake. There is butter in this recipe only a stick but I think the sugar cinnamon apples makes a lovely fragrance.
How to Make Apple Fritter Coffee Cake
Begin this recipe with gathering your ingredients. 3 large baking apples, toasted pecans, brown sugar, granulated sugar, apple cider, vanilla, eggs, butter, flour, baking powder, and salt.
Make sure your butter and eggs are at room temperature. While your eggs and butter warm up, peel, core and chop apples into small bitesized pieces to measure 2 cups. Place in a bowl and set aside. Squeeze a little bit of lemon juice over the apples to prevent browning. Add sugar and cinnamon to apples. In a smaller bowl add sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and toasted pecan pieces. Set aside.
Using a stand or hand mixer, beat together butter and sugar until creamy, add vanilla. Measure the flour, baking powder and salt, add to butter mixture. Alternate flour with half n half, apple cider. mix until blended.
Line a square 8″ x 8″x 2″ pan with parchment paper, extending over sides of dish. Spray with cooking spray. Divide the batter into thirds, spread 1/3 in bottom of baking dish, sprinkle with chopped apples, then sugar cinnamon pecans, repeat layering batter with apples and pecans, ending with pecans. Bake at 350 ° F for 60 minutes. The coffee cake will rise beautifully. Remove from oven and allow to cool before removing from baking dish.
Add sugared pecans over the apples, next add second layer of cake batter. Repeat process ending with sugar cinnamon pecans. Bake at 350° F for 60 minutes. Tent cake with foil if the top begins to brown to quickly. Remove from oven and cool before drizzling with Apple Cider Glaze.
How to Make Apple Cider Glaze for Apple Fritter Coffee Cake
In small saucepan, add 2 cups apple cider. Over medium low heat simmer the cider until it reaches 1 cup and is thickened slightly. Remove from heat and stir in confectioner’s sugar, half n half and salt. Glaze should be smooth and somewhat thick but thin enough to drizzle over cake. The apple cider reduction really makes the coffee cake taste like an apple fritter. Store the cake in air tight container after serving. Cut the coffee cake into 1 or 2″ pieces. You can cut the cake in half and then cut each half into 8 one inch slices or you can cut the cake into 2″ x 2″ squares. Both ways to cut the cake will yield 16 servings.
Reduced apple cider with half n half ready to be added to confectioner’s sugar to make a smooth glaze for drizzling over the coffee cake. You can double the glaze recipe pour half over the cake and serve the other half on the side for extra drizzle.
Apple Fritter Coffee Cake
Easy to make coffee cake layered with chopped apples, pecans and sugary cinnamon for a moist full of fall flavor cake. Perfect for snacking or early morning breakfast.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 60 minutes
- Yield: 16 servings 1x
- Category: Bread, Breakfast, Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Coffee Cake Batter
1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3 eggs at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon & nutmeg
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/4 cup apple cider
1/4 cup half n half
Apples
3 large cooking apples, or 3 cups granny smith-peeled, cored, chopped
2 teaspoons lemon juice-fresh squeezed to prevent browning of apples
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon Cinnamon Sugar & Pecan Mixture
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup chopped toasted pecans
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Apple Cider Glaze
2 cups apple cider, reduced- see instructions
1 –1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1/2 teaspoon half n half
1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Line a square 8″ x 8″ baking pan with parchment paper. Lightly spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 ° F. Position oven rack in center of oven.
- Make Pecan Sugar Cinnamon-In small bowl, mix brown sugar, pecans, and ground cinnamon. Toss together, set aside.
- Make Apple Filling-In medium bowl, add chopped apples, brown sugar and ground cinnamon. Toss together, set aside.
- Make Cake Batter-In large bowl or bowl of stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream together butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until blended, add eggs one at a time, beat after each egg. Add vanilla and beat until mixture is creamy smooth.
- Add flour, baking powder, spices and salt. Add gradually to cake batter, alternate with apple cider and half n half.
- Layering- Spoon 1/3 of the batter into parchment lined baking dish, spoon 1/3 of the reserved chopped apples, then 1/3 of the cinnamon sugar pecan mixture. Repeat this process ending with cinnamon sugar pecan mix.
- Place in preheated 350 °F oven and bake 60 minutes. Tent cake with foil if it starts to brown too fast.Insert toothpick in center of cake to test for doneness. Toothpick will come out clean when done.
- Allow coffee cake to cool to room temperature.
- Make Apple Cider Glaze- In a small saucepan, simmer 2 cups of apple cider over medium high heat until cider becomes reduced to 1 cup and is slightly thickened. Takes about 8 minutes, so stir and watch as not to burn. When cider is reduced, add salt and half n half. Stir to blend.
- Remove cider from pan and place in medium mixing bowl with confectioner’s sugar. Stir until smooth. If glaze is too thick add more half n half, if too thin add additional confectioner’s sugar.
- Remove coffee cake from pan using parchment paper. Remove paper and place on serving platter. Drizzle with Apple Cider Glaze.
- To Serve: Cut coffee cake in half and slice each half into 2″ slices or cut 8- 2″ x 2″ cakes for 16 servings. Store cake in covered container at room temperature.
Notes
Cake is very moist, you can store in refrigerator if not eaten with in a day.
Cake can be baked in a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan if you want a loaf cake.
You can substitute pecans to walnuts.
You can also double the Apple Cider Glaze and serve half of the glaze with the individual slices.
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